NFL Draft: Series of trades leaves Patriots well-stocked for next year

Monday

Apr 27, 2009 at 12:01 AMApr 27, 2009 at 11:19 PM

Same time, next year. When their work was through, the Patriots had emerged holding three second-round picks next year – the same hand they carried into the weekend when this draft began. That creates exactly the kind of flexibility Belichick covets; the flexibility to wheel and deal all weekend long as he did in taking part in seven trades over the course of a draft he concluded by making a dozen picks.

Glen Farley

Same time, next year.

“We’re in fairly good position next year to be competitive in the next draft,” New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said at the conclusion of the NFL Draft on Sunday. “I felt like we tried to use our picks productively and at the same time looked forward in the future and tried to position ourselves to be in a competitive situation in the 2010 draft.”

When their work was through, the Patriots had emerged holding three second-round picks next year – the same hand they carried into the weekend when this draft began.

That creates exactly the kind of flexibility Belichick covets; the flexibility to wheel and deal all weekend long as he did in taking part in seven trades over the course of a draft he concluded by making a dozen picks.

While planning for the future, the Patriots figured that Ellis Hobbs no longer fit in it.

The three picks they’ve used on cornerbacks in the past two drafts (Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite in 2008; Darius Butler this year) and two players they’ve picked up as free agents earlier this offseason (Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden) allowed the Patriots to move Hobbs to Philadelphia in a trade that gained them a pair of fifth-round picks.

Which they later traded, of course.

The major disappointment looking back on the weekend would seem to be the Patriots’ inability to land someone who would immediately project as a high-impact player at the linebacker position where starting outside linebacker Mike Vrabel is gone (traded to Kansas City) and inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi will turn 36 before the start of training camp.

“As always, there’s a lot of players that we like and we drafted the ones that we felt gave us the best value and best fit at that particular time,” said Belichick. “There were a lot of players on that board that are good football players that we could have had that for one reason or another it just didn’t work out that way at every position.”

On Sunday, the tone was immediately set.

The Patriots dealt the first of four third-round picks (73rd overall) they owned at the start of the day to Jacksonville, receiving a seventh-round pick this year (232nd overall) and the Jaguars’ second-round selection next year in return.

A short while later, the Patriots dealt the third of the four third-round picks (89th overall) they held at the start of the day to Tennessee, receiving the Titans’ second-round choice next year in return.

As for the initial pick they made on Sunday?

That would be Brandon Tate (83rd overall), a wide receiver-return man from the University of North Carolina, who, due to surgery to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee last season, likely won’t be ready to play until – you got it – next year.

If Belichick could have moved out of spots No. 97, 170 and 207, it’s likely he would have done that, too. Much to his chagrin, no doubt, NFL rules prohibit teams from dealing comp ensatory picks they are awarded for free-agent losses.

Maneuvering their way out of the Saturday’s first round, the Patriots wound up with four second-round picks on the opening day of the draft.

At the weekend’s conclusion, the Patriots had added three linemen on each side of the ball, two wide receivers, two defensive backs, one linebacker and a long snapper.

“We ended up with three offensive linemen, three defensive linemen, and I just don’t think you can ever have enough of those guys,” said Belichick. “That’s not any kind of commentary on anybody that’s here or isn’t here. It’s just we had picks, they were available, and they’re not usually there and we took them.”

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